The Duke's Christmas Greetings (Regency Christmas Summons Book 3) (5 page)

From the large chair behind the desk, the duke looked her up and down. “Do you always stand at doorways and debate whether or not to enter?”

“It’s my hand,” she lied. “It’s still bothering me. I am sorry.” The truth was, her hand felt much better than it had the night before. Who knew lime juice could work such wonders?

“When Doctor Campion arrives, he can take another look at it.”

At least seeing the doctor was something to look forward to. Patience nodded quickly, silently vowing to take whatever reprimand the duke had for her and then escape to somewhere else until the handsome doctor arrived.

“Do sit.” The duke gestured to one of the chairs in front of his desk.

On shaky legs, Patience crossed the floor and then delicately sat on the very edge of the leather chair, praying this interview would be over just as soon as it began.

He sat back in his seat, folded his hands together and looked her over once more as though she was some sort of specimen he hadn’t encountered before. “You’re the one I haven’t heard much about, though you have made quite the scene since arriving, haven’t you?”

“I’m sorry,” she said for lack of anything else to say.

“Mmm.” He narrowed his eyes on her. “Your mother assures me that hellcat you brought with you has been removed from my property.”

Ashes was
not
a hellcat, but she wasn’t about to disagree with the duke, even though Grace surely would have in her place. “Doctor Campion offered to let my kitten stay with him while we’re here.”

“So I understand.” He paused for a moment to study her once more. “Your sister Hope cannot tell an honorable man from a scoundrel. Do you share her lack of good judgment?”

Patience had no idea where that had come from. “I beg your pardon?”

“You have a flighty sister without any sense and a tart-tongued sister with more wit than is fitting in a lady. I’m just not certain where you land on the scale in comparison to them.”

“I love my sisters very much,” she said and wasn’t at all pleased with the way the duke had chosen to speak about either Hope or Grace.

“That wasn’t what I asked,” he said a little sharply. “Are you more like Lady Hope who wouldn’t know an honorable man if he wore a sign around his neck? Or are you more like Lady Grace who would send both scoundrels
and
gentlemen running for the hills after just a taste of her biting wit?”

Patience had no idea how to answer that. “I’m
me
, Your Grace. My sisters and I may look alike, but we are each our own person. None of us are like or unlike the others. We are each ourselves.”

He didn’t seem to care for that answer as his brow furrowed slightly. But she wasn’t trying to be difficult. It was simply the truth.  She might wish she had Grace’s bravery or Hope’s charm, but they were each their own person.

He sucked in a breath as though he was just about to give her an earful when a scratch came at the door. “Damn it all,” he grumbled. “What now?”

The door creaked open and the middle-aged butler stepped inside the study. “I am sorry to disturb you, Your Grace, but there is quite a fracas happening in the breakfast room. I do think you should come right away.”

The old duke pushed out his chair with reflexes of a much younger man. “What the devil now, Dawson?”

“I’m not even certain how it started, Your Grace.”

The duke started from his desk, towards the threshold, looking most irritated, and Patience was relieved to be done with the man, especially if he was about to lose his temper.

“Oh,” the butler said, just now noticing Patience. “Doctor Campion has arrived, Lady Patience. He wanted to inspect your hand this morning. I left him in the yellow parlor.”

And then the duke stopped briefly in his tracks to cast Patience the most curious expression. “We will continue this conversation later. Do not for one moment think it is over.”

Patience waited until the duke had left before returning to her feet and crossing the floor. What could she do to keep from continuing that conversation? Perhaps whatever fracas was occurring in the breakfast room would take up so much of His Grace’s attention that he’d forget all about Patience.

But for right now, she didn’t want to think about the Duke of Danby, not when the most handsome doctor in all of Yorkshire, probably the most handsome doctor anywhere, was waiting for her in the duke’s yellow parlor. All right, he was waiting to inspect her
hand
. But perhaps he had news of Ashes too.

She darted towards the yellow parlor, stopping only once she reached her destination. The sight of Doctor Campion, standing by a window, his hands clasped behind his back, stopped her where she stood. Even his profile was striking, and he quite took Patience’s breath away. Oh, she wished she possessed Hope’s charm, that she knew what to say and not sound like a blithering idiot.

The air suddenly felt different and Matt turned away from the window to find her, even lovelier than she had been the night before. “Lady Patience,” he breathed out.

“Doctor Campion,” she answered softly as she stepped into the parlor. “How nice to see you again.”

It was very nice to see her. But she
was
a patient. It would do him good to remember that. “How is your hand this morning?” He gestured to the nearby settee.

“I think it’s much better,” she said as she sat on the very edge of the seat. Then she blushed slightly. “Do you want to see it?” She reached her hand out to him in invitation.

Her wound. That
was
why he’d come. Matt nodded as he took the spot beside her and took her hand in his. Lady Patience’s emerald gaze met his and Matt was mesmerized. How was it possible that she was even prettier today? “I’ll just remove the wrap,” he said, forcing himself to shift his gaze from her face to her hand.

Her fingers curled over his hand and Matt sucked in a breath. Never in his life had the line between him and a patient ever blurred with lust, not until now. What in the world was wrong with him?

He unwound the gauze and was struck again by the softness of her skin. He nearly groaned from the softness of her. He was playing with fire. Of all the women he should feel this undeniable attraction for, one of Danby’s relations was a terribly bad idea. The duke didn’t necessarily employ Matt, but he did pay most of his wages either from tending to the inhabitants and staff at the castle or even the tenants on his property from time to time. If Matt fell out of Danby’s favor, he might as well pack up and move to a different county.

He locked his jaw and tried to tamp down the feelings Lady Patience brought about in him. Then he removed the cloth from her hand and was relieved to see that swelling was gone and that her skin was no longer an angry red. “I believe you will survive,” he said, lifting his gaze to hers once more.

“That is a relief,” she said, and then she blushed as she held his gaze. He didn’t imagine it. She was just as affected by him as he was by her. “But I hope I’m not so well recovered that you won’t need to check on me again.”

Against his better judgment, he squeezed her fingers instead of releasing her as he should have done. “Should I keep an eye on you?”

She bit her bottom lip slightly. “I think perhaps you should. What if I should relapse? It would be best if you were nearby, I think.”

Matt found himself nodding in agreement. “I probably should keep an eye on you then. A relapse is quite unlikely, but I would never forgive myself if I was wrong, my lady.”

She smiled at that and then said, “Patience,” so softly it barely hit his ears. “Just Patience.”

“Matthew…uh…Matt,” he replied just as quietly. Damn it all, what where they doing? Had they both lost their minds?

Her grin widened. “Matt, I can never thank you enough for taking Ashes last night. I hope he’s behaved himself.”

“No ruined slippers yet.” And then he laughed because being near her made him happy. “But he is completely spoiled rotten.”

She blinked at him. “He’s
not
spoiled.”

“Oh, yes he is.” Matt squeezed her fingers again, hoping she didn’t think he was criticizing her. “He ate more than his share of
my
stew last night, and then a bowl of cream, like you said.”

“You gave him your stew?”

“He didn’t really give me a choice in the matter. And when we was done with all of that, he slept on top of me right—” Matt touched his chest “—here all night and…”

“Patience, you will never guess what happened in the breakfast—” One of her sisters raced into the parlor, but then stopped in her tracks when her eyes landed on Matt, still most inappropriately holding Patience’s hand. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” Then she gave Matt a once over as though she was determining what she thought about him, and that made him release her sister’s hands and stand up, like he should have done when the lady had first entered the parlor.

“Grace.” Patience heaved a sigh. “Doctor Campion was just telling me how Ashes is getting along, and he is spoiling him quite unashamedly.”

A wicked gleam flashed in Lady Grace’s eyes. “Poor Ashes. He probably thinks you abandoned him.”

“I’m certain he misses you,” Matt said. “But we are keeping him entertained at Allwynds, not to worry.”

“It’s a shame you can’t visit him yourself and reassure the little devil of your devotion to him.”

Lady Grace just became Matt’s favorite of Patience’s two sisters. Knowingly or unknowingly, she’d given him the perfect opportunity to spend a little time with Patience, and not be under the duke’s watchful eye. “I, um, that is…You’re welcome to come visit him, my lady.”

Patience pushed up to her feet beside Matt and grinned at her sister. “You won’t tell Mama where I’ve gone?”

Lady Grace snorted. “I shouldn’t tell her that you were feeling so much better after your bandages were removed that you thought a ride would lift your spirits even more?”

“What would I do without you?” Patience asked.

“Be stuck at the castle when you could be at—” she glanced back at Matt “Where did you say again? All something?”

“Allwynds,” he replied.

“Yes, Allwynds,” Lady Grace added. “I’m sure you won’t be gone so long your presence would be noted, however.”

“We won’t be too terribly long at all,” Patience vowed.

Patience pulled the edges of her pelisse tighter as she followed Matt’s stallion atop one of His Grace’s borrowed mares. She hadn’t ventured at all beyond the walls of Danby Castle, but the terrain was beautiful, all blanketed in snow. It looked almost like a magical fairyland.

Or perhaps everything just
seemed
more magical ever since she’d met Matt.
Matt
.  She couldn’t help but smile at the sight of his greatcoat flapping in the wind. And cold as she was, the memory of holding his hand warmed her all the way to Allwynds, which truly was delightful. Or magical. It was the perfect cottage, not too big, not too small…just perfect.

After leading the horses into Matt’s small stables, he quickly dismounted from his stallion and then turned to help her down from her borrowed mare. His dark eyes met hers as he smiled and his strong hands gripped her waist. Heat coursed through her, washing away the chill that had seeped into her bones during the ride.

Matt lifted her from her horse, never taking his eyes from hers. “You are an excellent rider,” he said. “I didn’t realize how treacherous the terrain had become.”